Law enforcement stated that multiple demonstrators were apprehended, and several officers sustained injuries during the conflicts.
</p><div style="--widget_related_list_trans: 'Related';"><div class="c-ad c-ad-halfpage u-show-for-small-only"><div class="c-ad__placeholder"><img class="c-ad__placeholder__logo" src="https://static.euronews.com/website/images/logos/logo-euronews-grey-6-180x22.svg" width="180" height="22" alt="" loading="lazy"/><span>ADVERTISEMENT</span></div></div><p>Law enforcement in the capital of Bulgaria clashed with nationalist protesters who are demanding the government abandon plans for eurozone accession.
Approximately 1,000 protesters assembled outside the Sofia office of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, and initiated throwing red paint and firecrackers at the premises.
A door was eventually set ablaze.
Firefighters and additional police units were dispatched to the scene and successfully contained the protestors.
Law enforcement reported that several demonstrators were arrested, and some officers were injured during the clashes.
The protest, organized by pro-Russian nationalists from the VAZrazhdane Party, commenced earlier on Saturday outside the Bulgarian National Bank headquarters.
Demanding government resignation, protesters brandished national and party banners while chanting “No to the euro” and “Yes to the Bulgarian lev,” their national currency.
“I am here to defend Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people,” Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of VAZrazhdane, declared to journalists.
He stated that his party was advocating for a referendum to determine membership in the 20-member eurozone.
“Without a referendum, we will obstruct the functioning of the National Assembly,” Kostadinov added, his party being the third largest in parliament.
Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, has experienced political instability over the past few years.
The newly formed government, established last month, has prioritized eurozone membership as a key objective.
However, not everyone shares the conviction that Bulgaria is prepared for eurozone membership.
Some economic experts argue Bulgaria lacks sufficient economic stability to join the eurozone and is not yet ready to adopt a single currency.
Conversely, the government, supported by other pro-European parties in parliament, emphasize the political significance of adoption as a step towards deeper European integration amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
ADVERTISEMENTEfforts to divert the nation from this goal are reportedly being intensified by pro-Russia nationalists, who are allegedly employing disinformation tactics to instigate fear among the population.
